City Life

On this edition of ST, we learn about the Tulsa Police Department's ongoing efforts to implement recommendations submitted earlier this year by the Tulsa Commission on Community Policing. In particular, we focus on the Department's implementation of a Community Response Team (or CRT) program; this is an initiative still in its "pilot" stage. As we learn today from our guest, Tulsa Police Deputy Chief Jonathan Brooks, the three-person CRT team includes an officer from the Police Department, a paramedic from the Tulsa Fire Department, and a mental health professional.

On this edition of ST, a discussion with Richard Rothstein, who is a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute and a Fellow at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Widely seen as a leading authority on U.S.

On this edition of ST, an interesting chat with Tulsa Transit Interim General Manager Debbie Ruggles. In a joint appearance, City of Tulsa and Tulsa Transit officials recently announced a new bus rapid transit line for our community, which will run mainly along Peoria Avenue. It will be known as the Aero system. Service on the Aero -- which will run in rotation from Peoria and 36th Street North to 81st and Lewis -- is expected to start in Spring 2019.

The transition from childhood to adulthood -- the adolescent and post-adolescent years, and all that go with them -- can be difficult, of course, for a host of reasons. Whether it's finding a job, finishing school, locating a place to live, discovering what one's goals really are, deciding on a career path, and so forth -- these can be trying experiences; relying on the aid of one's family and friends in such cases is paramount. But what if you're confronting these realities and you actually have no family? Or you have no "support network" of friends, mentors, and relatives?

On this edition of ST, a great discussion that first aired on our show in March. At that time we spoke with Aravind Adiga, who joined us to discuss his then-new novel, "Selection Day." As was noted by The New York Times of this fine coming-of-age saga that focuses on two brothers in a Mumbai slum who are raised to become cricket stars: "Mr. Adiga's third novel supplies further proof that his Booker Prize...was no fluke. He is not merely a confident storyteller but also a thinker, a skeptic, a wily entertainer, a thorn in the side of orthodoxy and cant....

How "walkable" is downtown Tulsa? And how could it be made more so? Our guest is Tom Baker, the executive director of Tulsa's Downtown Coordinating Council (or DCC). The DCC is an advisory board made up of downtown property owners, government officials, and business owners, and last month -- in cooperation with various local businesses, organizations, and individuals -- it welcomed the noted urbanist and walkability expert Jeff Speck for a presentation of his recently-completed Walkable Tulsa Study.

Our guest on ST is Chuck Marohn, an engineer based in Minnesota and member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He's also the founder and president of Strong Towns, a nationwide media nonprofit that, per its website, supports "a model of development that allows America's cities, towns, and neighborhoods to become financially strong and resilient. For the United States to be a prosperous country, it must have strong cities, towns, and neighborhoods.

On this edition of ST, we offer a wide-ranging chat with Bill Leighty, the executive director of Smart Growth Tulsa, which was founded in April of 2014 and incorporated as a nonprofit just recently. This organization, per its website, is "committed to policies, not politics. We seek to create healthy communities that work for everyone, with strong schools and local businesses, improved mobility options and jobs that pay well....

Our guest on this edition of ST is Aravind Adiga, who won the Booker Prize for his novel, "The White Tiger." He joins us to discuss his newest book, just out, which is called "Selection Day." As was noted by The New York Times of this fine coming-of-age saga that focuses on two brothers in a Mumbai slum who are raised to become cricket stars: "Mr. Adiga's third novel supplies further proof that his Booker Prize...was no fluke. He is not merely a confident storyteller but also a thinker, a skeptic, a wily entertainer, a thorn in the side of orthodoxy and cant....

On this installment of StudioTulsa, we speak with James Wagner, the Chief of Performance Strategy and Innovation in Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum's newly formed administration. Mr. Wagner was previously the principal transportation planner for the Indian Nations Council of Governments (or INCOG), and he appeared on this program several times in that capacity.

(Note: This interview originally aired in July.) On this edition of ST, a discussion with Amy Haimerl, a professor of journalism at Michigan State University who writes about small business and urban policy for Fortune, Reuters, The New York Times, and other outlets.

On this edition of ST Medical Monday, we speak with two representatives from the Tulsa Housing Authority (or THA): Matt Letzig is the organization's Interim CEO and Terri Cole is its VP for Assisted Housing. THA, as noted at its website, "provides publicly assisted housing comprised of traditional public housing, mixed finance sites, and Section 8. Currently, THA provides assistance to more than 20,000 individuals, or 7,200 families....

On this edition of ST, we welcome back to our show Steve Grantham, the executive director of Up With Trees, which is a popular nonprofit that's been active in Tulsa since 1976. As noted at the Up With Trees website: "In the last four decades, we have planted over 30,000 trees at more than 500 sites throughout Tulsa.

Our guest on this edition of ST is Tony Moore, who was formerly the chief operating officer at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida, and now serves as the director of both A Gathering Place and Guthrie Green. The former is, of course, the George Kaiser Family Foundation's $350 million initiative -- now being built along Riverside Drive near 31st Street -- that will open late next year, and the latter is the popular public-park-and-open-stage space in downtown Tulsa, just across the street from the Woody Guthrie Center.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we speak with Jeff Olivet, who is the President and CEO of the Boston-based Center for Social Innovation. Olivet is also a nationally recognized expert on homelessness, poverty, affordable housing, behavioral health, public health, and HIV -- and he'll be speaking about "Racism and Homelessness in America" at this year's National Zarrow Mental Health Symposium, which happens here in Tulsa from today (the 28th) through Friday (the 30th) at the Cox Business Center downtown.

What is "co-housing" -- and why has it become so popular so quickly in certain parts of the U.S.? And how is it different from assisted living, or nursing-home living, or communal living? On this edition of StudioTulsa, we speak with Melanie Fry and Jane Zemel, two Tulsans who are involved with the still-emerging movement to create a Tulsa Senior Co-Housing community.

(Note: This program originally aired back in April.) Late one night in 2011, a large animal collided with an SUV on a Connecticut parkway. This animal was not a deer -- as is, sadly, so often the case. It was a 140-pound mountain lion...and it had been born in the Black Hills of South Dakota...in 2009!

On this installment of ST, we speak with author Norm Stamper, who was a police officer for more than 30 years, first in San Diego and then in Seattle, where he retired as that city's police chief. He is widely credited as the architect of the nation's first community policing program and served as a founding member of President Bill Clinton's National Advisory Council on the Violence Against Women Act.

Police violence, police shootings, and police brutality -- and acts of murder or terror committed against the police themselves -- have been on the rise in America in ways that are deeply and pervasively troubling -- not to mention downright scary.

On this edition of ST, a discussion with Amy Haimerl, a professor of journalism at Michigan State University who writes about small business and urban policy for Fortune, Reuters, The New York Times, and other outlets. She was previously the entrepreneurship editor at Crain's Detroit Business, where she covered the city's historic bankruptcy trial.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we are pleased to welcome Eileen Bradshaw, Executive Director of the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. The Food Bank, as it's commonly known, is the largest private hunger-relief organization in eastern Oklahoma. It's been around since 1981. As noted at this nonprofit's website: "Our vision is food security, with dignity, for all eastern Oklahomans.... With locations in Tulsa and McAlester, we provide food and other donated goods to 450 Partner Programs in 24 counties of eastern Oklahoma.

On this installment of ST, we learn about a locally-rooted socio-economic and educational project called Growing Togther. It's a nonprofit that works to bring meaningful and lasting change to two different Tulsa neighborhoods marked by concentrated areas of poverty, Eugene Field and Kendall-Whittier. Our guest is Kirk Wester, executive director of Growing Together.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, an interesting conversation with Gabe Klein, an entrepreneur and urban-development advocate who was formerly the DOT director under Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago, and also the Director of the District of Columbia DOT under Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. Prior to working in local government, Klein worked at a few notable start-ups, including Zipcar. On our show today, he talks about his new book, "Start-Up City: Inspiring Private and Public Entrepreneurship, Getting Projects Done, and Having Fun." About this guidebook, Ray LaHood, the former U.S.

This evening -- Tuesday the 8th -- beginning at 6pm, Oklahoma Watch, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to both in-depth reporting and investigative journalism vis a vis public-policy issues, will host a free-to-the-public forum on the future of mass transit in the greater Tulsa area. The event will take place at the Central Center, near 6th and Peoria.

On this edition of our show, we speak with Steve McDonald, an artist and illustrator from Canada, about his new book, "Fantastic Cities: A Coloring Book of Amazing Places Real and Imagined." It's a striking collection of highly detailed line drawings depicting aerial views of real cities from around the world, both genuine and fictional. From New York, London, and Paris, to Istanbul, Tokyo, and Amsterdam, this large-format "coloring book for adults" combines arresting cityscapes with rather mind-bending and/or kaleidoscope-like close-ups of architectural details of all sorts.

Interested in the idea of living in downtown Tulsa? Curious about all the apartment buildings and office spaces that seem to getting refurbished or constructed downtown these days? Wondering about what might be in store for a certain vacant property or unsightly parking lot within the City of Tulsa's Inner Dispersal Loop? If you've answered in the affirmative to any or all of these queries, you might want to check out the 3rd Annual Dwell in the IDL Tour, which will be presented by the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture this coming Sunday, the 4th, from noon to 5pm.

On today's StudioTulsa, we learn about a new documentary film called "Misfits," which was screened last week at a special event at the Circle Cinema. This film, which was directed by the Danish filmmaker Jannik Splidsboel, and which debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, is (per its listing at the IMDB website) about "three American teenagers from conservative Tulsa [who] are struggling with isolation and instability....

From public transportation to park spaces, from educational opportunities to crime stats, from ethnic diversity to urban density, how does Tulsa measure up to other cities of its kind throughout the nation? In mid-January, the Tulsa City Council was presented with the annual Quality of Life Report for our city. This report -- per the City Council website, where you can read all of it -- is "an objective analysis of our community, compared to 20 peer cities.

On this edition of ST, we speak by phone with urban planner and professional engineer Charles Marohn, who is also the president and founder of a nonprofit called Strong Towns. This organization works to help America's towns and cities to become financially resilient and economically strong -- and as is noted at the Strong Towns website: "Enduring prosperity cannot be artificially created from the outside but must be built from within, incrementally over time.